Illusions and Masks
by EmbraceDiversity
Summary: He seemed so strong and confident. A guy of iron will and determination. So why was it that whenever he looked at him it was as if he was barely hanging on? AU. ShikaNeji. Request Fic for Maya Nara. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I seriously debated whether or not I wanted to put this up; because the _last_ time I tried to put up an angst/dark fic I went chicken shit and removed it because I had been uncomfortable with what my depraved mind could honestly come up with. Fairheartstrife(I love that girl so much) convinced me to at least put it up on my LJ though.

This is a request fic from Maya Nara. She requested ShikaNeji and she wanted angst. This is what popped up in my head. I don't read angst or ShikaNeji fics so if the plot is something you've seen before in like, 50 ShikaNeji fics I am truly sorry. I will try and throw in as much originality as possible, however. **Unbeta'd.**

xxxxx

1

xxxxx

In high school, students are broken down socially in their own personal cliques. Some of them randomly come together through little more than coincidence or random encounter. Some were long time friends, some all gather together from mutual acquaintances.

Then there were the cliques that had a specific reason for existing. You had the nerds, the jocks, the cheerleaders, the list goes on. These particular cliques tended to have perquisites to joining, similar to a 'You Must Be This Tall to Ride' sign at an amusement park. There was the 'You Must Be This Nerdy' to join the nerds; but not only that you had to have the attitude...and you had to be unpopular. This was an unwritten rule that everyone knew and accepted.

There was the 'You Must Be This Cool' perquisite that pretty much filled in anything and everything that could garner lots of attention from lots of people. Either that or involved lots of money and connections. Athletes, cheerleaders and the like. Their standards were much higher and they tended to mingle with the 'Preps' and 'Spoiled Rich Kids' cliques. One could be highly intelligent and make it to the Preps or Spoiled Rich Kids clique but, of course, you either had to be 'cool enough' or have an absurd amount of money or fame. If one did not conform in an acceptable manner; they slipped down to the lower rungs of teenage society.

There were some exceptions to the rule, of course, but due to being classified as belonging to a certain clique they could or would be shunned by others. With cliques came stereotypes and, unfortunately – or fortunately, depending – stereotypes existed for a _reason_ – the majority ruining or running it for the minority. Sometimes they did both.

Then there were drifters. These individuals could sometimes float through any clique and do well all at the same time. They didn't really belong to any sort of clique or showed any sort of stereotypical traits to properly classify them. Very rarely were these individuals overly popular; usually drifters were ignored and they blissfully went about their business on a daily basis.

Nara Shikamaru was one of these individuals. A second year in high school, the lazy bum – his own self-proclaimed title – had no interest in anything but drifting by in anything and everything. No one really liked him but no one really hated him either. He floated along like the clouds he so loved to watch, preferring absolute simplicity and avoiding anything overly complicated unless it involved the mind – and sometimes even then it was questionable.

He didn't do bad in class but he didn't do well either. He did the bare minimum in everything presented to him and he slept _all the time_. Teachers had all but abandoned him as a lost cause after his first year and since he didn't snore he was ignored. His presence denoted that he didn't give a damn about your opinion on him and yet it was not arrogance or overconfidence – he simply couldn't be bothered to care. It made him a rather unique individual, as not even the jocks would mess with him – what was the point?

But even drifters had their exceptions. Although Shikamaru was not in any club – couldn't be bothered to attend meetings – he did wander down to the chess club's room on the Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays –rarely – they got together. He didn't play western chess as their club focused on; he instead played shogi.

Whether or not anyone challenged him was of little consequence; although many on the team would try now and then. In the 'nerd' community he was considered a tactical genius and he neither confirmed nor denied such claims. Shikamaru merely enjoyed playing and it was one of the few places where he could do so quietly. Home wasn't an option, his mother was about as quiet as a foghorn and nagged him all the time.

Parks were annoying; old guys would start congregating once he beat a few of them. This would have been fine if they had done so _quietly._ He really couldn't be troubled to know or care about what old men did in their lives and what they had done in their pasts. They also talked a surprising amount of shit and tended to be condescending because he was a kid. Annoying and troublesome.

So the chess club's room was his place to go when he wasn't cloud gazing, his other favorite hobby. He had formed a small association with the others and it was a comfortable setup.

There was one thing that Shikamaru did that every other individual in high school did: he judged. Jocks tended to be idiots, cheerleaders airheads, nerds were bitter and whined too much, it went on. It was rare that anyone deviated from their stereotypes and so he threw people into their categories like everyone else and was content with that.

So when Hyuuga Neji, vice captain – at the time – of the karate team and therefore categorized as 'jock' came walking into the chess team's room his freshman year he had truly been surprised. He had known who the guy was; there wasn't a person alive in Konoha High that didn't know him. A supposed genius who was perfect at absolutely everything. Personality-wise, he tended to be quiet and aloof, which only translated to 'hot as hell' to fangirls everywhere. Many guys thought him to be self-centered and arrogant and secretly Shikamaru had figured they were probably right – he had seemed the type.

He had been even _more_ surprised when everyone in the room had actually, and genuinely, welcomed him. For some reason that he couldn't explain even now a year later; the Hyuuga's appearance and everyone's reaction to him had piqued his interest. Normally he wouldn't have cared – so the guy wasn't as his stereotype claimed, so what? – but there was something about his presence that drew a person in. It wasn't just his looks, although with his long hair he was almost borderline feminine in appearance, it was..._him_. Just him.

Setting his bag down, he had looked over at Shikamaru and blinked once. There had been no emotion on his face or in his gaze and yet the Nara had felt himself distracted by the almost-white eyes. He had heard of the Hyuuga's strange genetic trait and there was a girl in his class like that, but he had never really paid attention until then.

"Are you enjoying the show?" the older male had asked and there had been a biting note to his tone. It made Shikamaru read what was lying underneath – _"Are you done staring at my 'freakish' eyes"?_ He couldn't have really blamed the guy; more than likely he had gotten that negative reaction his entire life.

Instead of answering he had merely gone back to pretending to pay attention to his game, although he had been well aware of eyes on him. After a while he had sighed and leaned back, looking up at the taller man lazily "What?"

The question had caused the Hyuuga to blink at him again, this time in slight confusion. It had quickly disappeared "Why are you here?"

"Huh?" he had given the Hyuuga a look that had clearly showed he didn't get why he was asking an obvious question "Why are _you_ here?" dark eyes had gone back to the board "I didn't know you guys even bothered to play chess."

"'You guys'?" he had definitely sounded offended and Shikamaru had tried hard not to sigh. He had known then that the guy was going to be annoying.

"Forget it." He hadn't wanted to get into a pointless argument with a guy who probably thought he was superior to everyone anyway. "I'm playing shogi." Had been _trying_ to anyway.

"I see that. That was _why_ I had asked the question."

He had actually found himself growing irritated at the guy and had looked back up at him. Their gazes met and for one second he had actually contemplated rising to the bait. Then he had snapped out of it and yawned. Whatever. "I like playing." Against his better judgment, he had opened his mouth again "What's your excuse?"

A muscle had ticked in the Hyuuga jaw "I also like playing."

The freshman had shrugged "Didn't think you were the type of guy to bother."

"You know absolutely _nothing_ about me, Nara Shikamaru."

_He knows my name?_ "Huh?" had been his rather intelligent response.

Having seen the opening, the Hyuuga had crossed his arms and smirked slightly "You, by some miracle or mistake I still have yet to determine, are in my advanced chemistry class so yes, I know who you are. I also know you are unmotivated, extremely lazy, and possibly narcoleptic. So, based on those observations; I am completely baffled at why someone who seems to avoid anything and everything involving advanced intelligent thought would be playing a strategy game."

Shikamaru had wanted to snort at the 'narcoleptic' part but the rest of it annoyed him for some reason. Why give a _damn_ what this pompous sounding jerk thought? It wasn't like he had pointed out anything untrue.

Instead he had shrugged "Guess we're all full of mysteries." He had said dryly "Are you gonna play?" because he really hadn't been in the mood to argue.

He had stared at Shikamaru for a bit longer before sighing and sitting down "Very well. I suppose I'll discover the truth during this match."

Something about the way he had said it had caught the Nara off guard. It hadn't sounded arrogant; it was as if he had been genuinely curious, there had been nothing mocking in his tone.

The first match had the Hyuuga thoroughly and quickly beaten. For a while he had sat there, staring at the pieces as if they were going to pop out and start riverdancing. Shikamaru had been surprised once again when Neji had leaned back and looked at him, frowning thoughtfully.

"Again." Was all he had said.

The second time had found Shikamaru surprised as it had only taken him a few moves to see what the Hyuuga had been trying to do. He had played moves to test his opponent; it hadn't been about winning at all. Every move the Nara had made; those white eyes would scan the board a few times before settling back on the piece. While the freshman had been sure that Neji would have taken any advantage to win, it felt as if the Hyuuga had known he wasn't going to. Strangely, he hadn't seemed bothered by it.

That was when Shikamaru had realized Hyuuga Neji was really a drifter like him. He was aloof and kept people at a distance but not because he felt himself superior. He came off as insulting and arrogant because he was brutally blunt and didn't seem to care what people thought of him. He was an exception; popular, but not because he wanted to be.

When he had been defeated again the Hyuuga went silent once more. After a long moment his white eyes had flickered to Shikamaru's face, his expression stern.

Then he had started laughing.

The entire room had stared at him as if he had lost his mind and with good reason, no one had yet to even see him smile much less laugh. When he had quieted down he had tilted his head slightly, looking very amused "I think I understand now. You're lazy because everything is so far behind you in intelligence you can't be bothered to deal with it." Crossing his arms, he had looked back at the board and chuckled.

"I admit, Nara, it did take me the middle of the first match to realize that you were thinking probably fifty if not one hundred moves ahead of me. I had been so stunned I was actually unable to fully concentrate." A smirk flickered on his face as he looked at his opponent again "I don't like losing, but I also know when I'm out of my league. I am impressed."

His smile had been genuine and actually friendly, which had completely thrown Shikamaru out on a loop. It was as if the Hyuuga had been showing him a side of himself he didn't show others and they barely even knew each other.

Besides being an athelete, Hyuuga Neji was _nothing_ like the stereotype he was categorized in.

Pulling back a sleeve, the older male had looked at his watch, drawing the Nara's attention to his bandaged wrist. At the time, Shikamaru had thought it had been a training accident. At the time. "I should get going." Neji had looked at him "I come here every Tuesday and Thursday. Saturdays all the clubs meet and so I am at the school's dojo. Do you plan on coming here often?"

A shrug was what the Hyuuga had received but he hadn't seemed upset in the slightest. If anything, he had seemed almost excited "We will play again." it had been a promise "I might be out of my league but from here on out, Nara Shikamaru, any win you get from me you will have to _earn_." Standing, he had grabbed his bag and politely excused himself.

And so began the strange 'friendship' between one of the most popular males in school and an absolute nobody.

Neji hadn't been joking. Every Tuesday and Thursday he would show to play shogi with him and every time Shikamaru would walk out of there feeling as if he had actually had to use his brain that day. The tales of the Hyuuga's genius was not exaggerated. He was an extremely good tactician and was amazing at analyzing and adapting.

Whenever Shikamaru would make a move Neji would go over several different typical counters one would make in his head and then would do something completely different from all of them. It made predicting him difficult. In addition, Neji would 'trap' him often. He would ensure that his opponent was nice and comfortable with his current strategy before he would switch to something off balancing. Shikamaru had found himself having to actually sit back and concentrate on what it was that Neji could be trying to do, but the challenge was in the fact that the Hyuuga made sure he wasn't predictable.

In the end Shikamaru would always win. After a while there were very few ways the Hyuuga could go in the game and only then was it a cake walk for him. Neji never got angry, he never tried to goad or distract him. He was calm, collected, and – although Shikamaru felt he was probably stretching it – peaceful.

Outside of those meetings Shikamaru found himself actually beginning to take an active interest in what Neji did during the day. It hadn't been often at first; only when he had been awake enough to care. Just as Neji was observant, he was as well and the discoveries he had made about the Hyuuga had confused him. It truly was as if Neji became a completely different person when he walked into the chess room. His cold gaze would warm and he smiled often, although it was small and many times easy to miss. He was an excellent conversationalist but he wasn't overly chatty.

As the year went on Neji's attitude towards him in general changed. It wasn't like he had started greeting him out in the halls or anything, but if they would pass each other he wouldn't just outright ignore him either. He did not talk about his family or himself at all but he did occasionally ask about Shikamaru's family or things that he liked or liked to do.

The biggest change was the fact that he started actually spending time with him outside of the chess class. It was only during lunch, for that was when Shikamaru would either go out near a shaded grassy area and watch the clouds or go up on the roof. When Neji started joining him he hadn't cared. They rarely spoke during those times but it was always companionable silence. There was...an atmosphere between them that Shikamaru had been truly surprised had developed – and through Neji's own volition.

It was never spoken out loud but it was pretty much a good assumption between them that they were friends, or very good associates. He had once again found himself surprised and realized that the Hyuuga was truly full of them.

Some of them, he learned, were unpleasant.

He still had yet to say anything but Shikamaru, actually beginning to pay attention to the Hyuuga, started to notice...things. For one, Neji's wrists were _always_ wrapped and he wore long sleeves all year long – something that teachers seemed not to want to bother to give him crap about.

Then he realized that there was another reason Neji was aloof; he went out of his way to ensure that people didn't touch him unless absolutely necessary – like during a spar. He seemed to be especially wary of anyone touching his arms and back.

The biggest one had been the bruises. He hid them well and whenever someone asked him he always claimed it was from a spar. If it had happened on a non-club day he would claim that it was from him sparring at the dojo.

Only problem with that? Neji didn't train at his dojo at home, he had told him that himself in passing once.

There was one reason Shikamaru never said anything: it wasn't his damn business. He didn't get involved in things that he didn't need to get involved in, and that included people's problems. Especially other people's problems. The two of them played shogi and had lunch together, that had been it and that was all the Nara had wanted to be involved in.

Still, he kept watching Neji from afar at school; it had almost become an obsession around the middle of the year. The only other person the Hyuuga reacted to emotionally was his cousin, Hinata. He was quite protective over her – almost too protective. Sometimes when he would look at her a strange expression would come over the Hyuuga and it had taken a while for Shikamaru to realize it was sadness.

Once he had noticed that look he discovered that whenever they were out during lunch and he didn't think Shikamaru was looking that expression would emerge. Neji would look...tired. Not just tired, but _tired_, as if life itself was draining him.

It was as if Neji walked around constantly wearing a mask; keeping up an illusion of strength and steel will when in reality it seemed as if he was just barely hanging on...to what was the question. Even though he didn't want to be, he was fascinated with the strange mystery that was Hyuuga Neji. Even though he _knew_ deep down that the answers were things he couldn't deal with he wanted to know anyway. Something about the older teen drew him in and as much as logic was _screaming_ at him to back the hell out and cut his losses he couldn't.

By the end of the year, he knew that he couldn't because he was already in. Even though they were still not terribly close he knew that somehow the Hyuuga had found something within him. Something about the Nara made Neji feel at peace and he seemed to be fine with only those few moments a day. By the time Shikamaru had a good idea of what was going on he also knew that if he backed off he would probably kill a part of the Hyuuga that he _needed_.

He wanted to continue to pretend that he was oblivious and for a few weeks into their second year he did just that, pretended. The Nara tried lying to himself, to believe that there wasn't something _seriously_ going on with Neji. He tried to believe that he didn't care because he didn't consider Neji a friend even though he knew he did. He wanted to believe that the strange skip in his chest that started happening whenever the other male smiled at him was indigestion or acid reflux. He wanted to pretend that the few times their hands or arms had brushed that he hadn't felt as if that spot was on fire.

_I need to keep this simple._ The Nara would constantly tell himself, because if Neji could do it, why couldn't he? The Hyuuga didn't try to confide in him, he didn't let Shikamaru get too close although he knew the other wanted to spend more time around him. Neji tried, and was very good at, keeping Shikamaru out of whatever it was he was in. It was obvious that whatever it was that was bothering Neji wasn't something he was going to reveal to anyone; not even the only person Shikamaru had seen him call a friend.

No, it wasn't that he wasn't trying to get him involved; it was as if he was protecting him. It didn't make any sense and it was only a strong feeling but it was there. Watching him around Hinata more made him realize that protecting those close to him was something he did by nature; as if he were a shield or something.

But a shield from _what_?

xxxxx

"Hey, Shikamaru." The Nara's best friend since childhood, Akimichi Chouji, nudged his arm and his head snapped up, groggy.

"Class over already?" Yawning loudly, he scratched at his side and began to get up "Damn, I was having a pretty good dream too." Another yawn. Advanced chemistry – damn Asuma for sticking him in that class knowing he couldn't afford to fail because his mom would bitch him out _forever_ – was next, then lunch and he was pretty sure today was a half-day. "Hey Chouji, what was it that Ino was screaming about again that she wanted to do?" that girl was as loud and naggy as his mom sometimes so he tuned her out about as often.

"Mm, something about a birthday party. I think the Uchiha's."

A loud groan. Resting his hand on his shoulder while he carried his bag he followed his friend out. He could give two shits about the Uchiha's birthday. Seriously. That guy _was_ every stereotype one could pin on him, except he also didn't participate in clubs. He and Neji were currently neck and neck with the females concerning who was hottest. "Isn't that guy's birthday in July? It's almost September."

Chouji shrugged; he didn't try to decipher the inner workings of Ino's mind any more than he. "I guess the girls all finally found out and so they're trying to do something for him. Or something. All I know is that she wants us to go shopping with her to find the perfect 'guy gift'."

He'd rather go walk out in rush hour traffic than go to the mall looking for the 'perfect' gift for Uchiha Sasuke. The guy was just too arrogant and a jerk to everyone for no reason. It was annoying because the girls still ate it up and begged for seconds while guys like Chouji couldn't even get his childhood friend to even glance twice at him. As far as he was concerned, Chouji was a hundred times a better guy.

"Nara."

Frowning, Shikamaru turned to the current bane of his thoughts "Uchiha. What's up?" He really wanted to know; there was absolutely no reason why Uchiha Sasuke would need to speak to him about anything.

Shoving a hand in his pocket, Sasuke frowned, as if thinking about something "You seen Hyuuga?"

The first person that came to mind, since she was in their class, was Hinata. He shrugged "I think she has Ancient History after this."

Although he looked very uncomfortable at the mention of Hinata, it seemed that wasn't the answer he had been looking for "I mean her cousin, Neji."

"How should I know?" he actually did know, because Neji was in his chemistry class.

And apparently, Sasuke knew it. "You two have the same class after this and then you meet up for lunch." Realizing that Shikamaru probably wasn't going to give him what he wanted to know he shook his head "Never mind. I'll find him myself."

"Did he seem like he was in a hurry to you?" Chouji asked and the Nara nodded. It did seem strange; what was Uchiha's problem that involved the Hyuuga?

_It's none of my business. Just keep walking, Nara._

Although he slept through most of chemistry class he did notice when awake that Neji seemed terribly upset about something. He actually _looked_ upset. Shikamaru wanted to growl at the fact that he wanted to know why and actually gave a damn, because he knew he shouldn't. So he forced himself to bury his head in his arms and sleep, even though his mind was running on overdrive.

Something was happening and somehow it involved the Uchiha and even Neji's cousin if Sasuke's reaction meant anything. Given all of his suspicions concerning the older Hyuuga he began to wonder. Neji's 'sparring bruises' had increased over the past few weeks; he even came in once with one on his left cheek, as if someone had really slugged him a good one.

_Damnit. Don't think about it. Don't get involved. It's not your problem and there's a good damn reason why he's never mentioned or hinted at it._

But it was becoming harder, because the more he was around Neji the more those strange feelings were increasing. Now every time he _saw_ the Hyuuga his heart did that funny skip and his breath would catch just a bit. He actually had to avoid looking the other teen in the eyes because his face for some _stupid_ reason would start heating up if he locked gazes with the Hyuuga for too long. Logically, he knew what was going on with him and he wanted no part of it. In fact, he was going to find Chouji after lunch – his best friend unfortunately had the second lunch period while he had first – and ask if he wanted to hang out after school even though it was Tuesday.

He had a feeling Neji probably wasn't going to show anyway.

Deciding he would eat up on the roof today, he actually hurried and left the room before Neji could approach him about where to go as he usually did. It was running away and he knew it – it wasn't like the Hyuuga wouldn't figure it out, they ate lunch in only two places – but he couldn't do it. He didn't want to get involved because getting involved meant that he would feel obligated to _do_ something and there was jack and shit he could honestly do for the Hyuuga's problem. Not if it was what he thought it was.

For some _idiotic_ reason, he found himself walking back after he had made it to the steps that led up, going to look for Neji who was more than likely having a confrontation with Uchiha if the other got a hold of him.

Damnit. He hated being right sometimes.

"Stop being an idiot about this!" that was Uchiha's voice around the corner where the lockers were. "What do you think is going to happen when you graduate?"

"Uchiha, it is none of your affair." Neji. He sounded very cold and unemotional "I know what I am going to do and it would be best if you stayed out of my way...and away from Hinata-sama. Besides, I do not think it is _you_ she is interested in."

"I _know_ that." Since Shikamaru was standing at the edge of the corner he couldn't see Sasuke's expression but he didn't sound very concerned "It's not like that, anyway."

"That is not what the rumor mill seems to think."

"Screw that." Now Uchiha sounded irritated "Stop being stubborn, Neji, I'm serious. I can hel –"

"And as I've said, it is _not needed._ I don't get into your family's affairs with your brother, stay out of mine with my cousin."

Apparently, the two males knew each other, and well. Strange, since they've never even glanced in each other's direction much less spoken inside of school. Very tense silence followed the cold and angry statement from Neji and Shikamaru was wondering why the _hell_ he was just standing there eavesdropping when he should have turned and gone back to the roof sentences ago?

"_I'm_ not the one you'll need to worry about, Hyuuga. Just remember that." A pause "Oh yeah, whoever it is that's hiding behind the corner, you can come out now. We know you're there."

_Shit_. He decided to bolt instead, practically running up to the roof and away from what had about to become an extremely uncomfortable and troublesome situation for him. Panting, he flopped down on his back, looking up at the sky. It was, strangely enough, a clear day. He had honestly expected it to be cloudy, or perhaps it was just because of the atmosphere around him.

Closing his eyes, he once again tried to tell himself that Neji's situation was _not_ his business, he was just a guy he played shogi with, he was _not_ attracted to him because that would be its own can of worms with them both being guys. Society liked to pretend they were tolerant with same sex relationships...that didn't extend to teenage society. There were a _lot_ of guys in their school that would possibly react violently and so far he'd done a great job of avoiding that sort of thing.

"Shikamaru?" Neji's voice. "Is everything alright? I tried to find you after class but you had already left."

So different. With Uchiha, Neji's voice had been cold and hard but around him it was so vastly different it was almost as if they belonged to two different people.

He opened his eyes and started. Long hair was dangling off of Neji's shoulder as he was bent over and effectively blocking Shikamaru's view of the sky. He looked genuinely puzzled and something else that the Nara wouldn't know because he didn't spend any real time around him.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." He didn't elaborate and, thankfully, the Hyuuga didn't press the issue. Instead he sat down beside him with a small sigh. There was silence for a little while.

"So," Neji's deep voice cut into his friend's thoughts "how much did you hear?"

Shikamaru snapped himself up to a sitting position, eyes wide "How did...?" he immediately realized his folly when Neji looked at him briefly and then looked away, smiling sadly.

"I didn't; but I had guessed. You are sweaty even though it's not hot out."

He had played right into that. Damn. "I didn't hear enough for it to matter." He admitted, because he really didn't know what they were talking about. He wanted to say that he wasn't going to ask but the words wouldn't form.

Instead, he took in the way Neji seemed to be holding his left arm; almost as if he were cradling it. He took in the fading bruise that looked like a hand print right below the collar of his shirt that he _thought_ couldn't be seen. Something hot settled in his chest and he realized what it was and tried hard to fight it down.

He couldn't get involved.

But he also couldn't take seeing what was so _obviously_ there and ignoring it. Not just because he was – and he decided to be realistic with himself – crushing on the older male; Neji was his friend. If it were Chouji...he would have done something and he knew it.

"Don't get involved." The warm tone to the Hyuuga's voice dropped and it was a clear warning.

_I know. I don't want to._

"Neji –"

"Please." It was said softly and sadly, the Hyuuga wasn't even looking at him. A thin smile emerged "You'll thank me later."

_What? When you're dead?_ The thought came unbidden and it wasn't until he saw Neji _staring_ at him that he realized he had said it out loud. He mentally cursed. Damnit, he couldn't get involved with his home situation, there was _nothing_ he could do about it. The only thing he could honestly do anything about was _that_ and he didn't even know if it was true or not – it could just be more of what he was receiving at home.

"I should go."

_Stop him._

_Let him go._

His body began to move on its own and he suddenly found himself standing right along with Neji. He could tell the Hyuuga was trying to close himself off when in reality he just looked sad and tired. Shikamaru thought of Chouji and if he could have stood back and just watched it all while turning the other cheek at the same time. He hated it that the answer was going to bring him more trouble than he could handle.

When Neji turned to leave, the Nara's hand shot out and grabbed not the Hyuuga's wrist but his forearm. His grip was tight and a sick feeling grew in his stomach when his friend actually cried out slightly in pain. It was true, gods he had hoped that it was just _that_ but...

"Neji, when did you start cutting yourself?"

For as long as he lived Shikamaru did not think he would ever forget the look that graced the Hyuuga's fine and well bred features. He looked stunned, hurt, guilty, angry, and just...

"Let go of me." He snatched his arm away and walked out without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

xxxxx

When Neji wanted to avoid someone, he _avoided_ them.

Several things happened after Shikamaru finally confronted him about the painful suspicion he'd had about his friend for over a year. One, somehow Neji managed to test out of _advanced_ chemistry and was no longer in his class. His aversion of the chess clubroom had been expected and after he had confirmed that the Hyuuga truly would _not_ be returning, he felt himself unable to be in the room any longer.

He did not see Neji after that, not even in passing. Shikamaru realized that more than likely it was because the older male was actually taking a separate route around the school. For a few days the Uchiha was absent and Neji's cousin, who seemed to always have a sad look to her, looked absolutely crestfallen.

The Nara couldn't get over the scene that had transpired only days ago. He _could not_ get the look Neji had given him out of his head. It wasn't because he had seemed hurt, angry or stunned. Of course, because someone up there really liked fucking with him, it was deeper than that.

The Hyuuga had looked at him as if he had robbed him of something very important...and he knew what that was.

Shikamaru deeply regretted saying anything; because he had known that Neji had grown emotionally dependent on their friendship. The times they spent during lunch and playing shogi after school had been the _only_ times he had seen Neji genuinely happy and in knowing the Hyuuga he had known that he had let his guard down for a reason. He had wanted to finally have something positive in his life. He had found a sliver of happiness, simple and uncomplicated, and he had latched onto it like a moth to a flame.

Now what did he have?

Despite the fact that he knew Neji was – basically – mutilating himself, he also knew that he wasn't suicidal. Not because he didn't want to be but because he _couldn't_. If his home situation was really as screwed up as he thought, he was able to conclude a few things.

One, Neji acted like a shield to people he cared about because he actually was one. Hinata never came to school with a bruise or any markings on her pale body. Neji's overprotective nature denoted that something had happened to make him feel as if he needed to be a shield.

With that said, if he killed himself, Hinata obviously would be defenseless and he seemed to love his cousin enough to not want her to go through that. It also meant that whatever abuse he was protecting Hinata from he was getting in her stead.

The last thing; something had happened recently that had pissed off the powers that be and somehow the Uchiha were either involved or knew about it and wanted to be involved. For the past two days Neji had not come to school and the only reason why he knew that was because he had overheard some of his fangirls talking.

It was getting worse. At this rate, Neji wouldn't have to worry about suicide. Why? Why was it even _happening_? What was _wrong_ with his family?

The question made him actually look it up and it was painfully easy to put everything together after that. The Hyuuga had been a very strong and influential family but apparently things had started going downhill when the twin brothers Hiashi and Hizashi had taken over the family business. Somehow they had gone bankrupt, the news articles didn't exactly explain how, and then there was the scandal that had pretty much destroyed them.

The twins had been _lovers_.

Apparently, there had been pictures and more evidence than that but Google had only pulled up blurred images that didn't really show anything concrete. Whether or not it was true no longer mattered, their reputation had been destroyed by it and then they dropped off the media's radar.

According to the records, Neji would have been around seven or eight when it had happened. The grandmother had taken the youngest, Hanabi, but somehow the twins had been able to keep Neji and Hinata. Financially, he had no idea how they were doing but if Neji's family truly did have a dojo somehow they came across some money again – or he had flat out lied about it.

The only thing he was able to guess was that because the Uchiha and Hyuuga families had been close at one point that was why Sasuke was trying to get involved now. It seemed really out of character for a guy like that and it _almost_ made him think differently about the Uchiha – except that a few possible redeemable traits didn't change the fact that he was still an asshole to everyone.

When Uchiha and Neji had their confrontation the Hyuuga had mentioned something about a rumor going on about him. To get more information he mentioned it offhandedly to Ino, pretending as if he didn't care one way or another, and of course the blonde spilled her guts.

The rumor going on was that Sasuke had fallen for the shy Hyuuga; but he had personally told Neji it wasn't like that. The two were spending actual time together but it seemed that whenever he was around her he was frustrated about something. No one knew what because they had all been stalking from too far a distance – these guys _really_ had nothing better to do it seemed – but Shikamaru had a feeling it was about what was going on in the Hyuuga household.

Sasuke knew what was going on, or at least he had a good idea. But why did he _care_? That was the part Shikamaru didn't get.

"I'm_ not the one you need to worry about."_ The Uchiha had said to him. What did that mean? Was there another player? Seriously, what the fuck was going on with all of this? It seemed like one huge twisted case of _sick_ drama that could potentially end with people dying.

"_Don't get involved."_

The Nara knew that he truthfully needed to walk away; it almost wasn't even an option at this point. He wasn't about to go and seek out Neji – and do what? – and the Hyuuga graduated this year so he knew he wasn't going to see him anymore.

...Graduate.

"_What do you think is going to happen when you graduate?"_

Neji was going to graduate. He would probably leave for college. Hinata still had another year, meaning that when he left, she would be on her own.

But why did Uchiha Sasuke _care_? It didn't seem as if he was friends with Neji's cousin and he didn't think he had lied about him not having romantic feelings for her. Then again; a lot of things weren't what they seemed to be at the moment.

"Argh!" he put his hands through his hair in frustration, not even caring as his hair came loose from its tie. None of it made any _sense_ and he shouldn't even be thinking about it in the first place. It wasn't a puzzle he should want to solve because solving one would just bring up hundreds more.

Forcing his mind to _cease_ its rapid processes for a moment he opened his eyes to look up at the sky from the roof...and found himself staring into pale lavender eyes. Hyuuga eyes.

"N-Nara-san?" Neji's cousin straightened as he sat up. Slouching over with his arms resting along his knees his dark gaze drifted up to regard her.

Hinata was nothing like her cousin besides the fact that she was quiet and didn't seem to have any friends. She looked sad all the time and many regarded her as a dark person – her obvious crush being the loudest of the bunch.

"Yo." He decided to feign ignorance because he had an idea as to why she was up here and he really didn't want to talk about it. Thinking about it was difficult enough. "I've never seen you come up here."

He watched as she fidgeted; wringing her hands and looking as if she wanted to blurt out whatever was on her mind and run at the same time.

"Um..." she dropped her gaze from his and secretly he prayed that she'd just lose her nerve as she did whenever it came to holding a coherent and intelligent – yeah, right – conversation with Uzumaki. Neji's problem wasn't his problem and when he had tried to make it his problem he had ended up making things worse.

He never wanted the Hyuuga to look at him like _that_ ever again. The image haunted him enough.

His miscalculation concerning confronting and then trying to help Neji weighed heavily on him. Mostly because – and gods did he realize it now – he honestly had feelings for the Hyuuga that went beyond friendship. The other reason was that Neji had pretty much begged him not to crush the only sanctuary and semblance of peace he had and that was exactly what he had done. If he hadn't confronted him he could have possibly tried to reach him over time – but seeing Neji like that had made him act hastily. Prime example of why he should stay out of other people's problems; he sucked just as hard as they did concerning dealing with it.

Of course, today was the day Hinata decided to have more balls than him because someone up there was not down with Shikamaru having a normal, stress free life. With a small sigh she met his gaze. Then, to his complete surprise and _horror_, she got down on her hands and knees and bowed so low her forehead almost touched the ground. He stopped slouching and sat up straight, at a complete loss as to what to do about her actions.

"Hyuuga..." Shit, what should he say? What if she started..._crying_? He couldn't stand it when girls cried; it was always awkward as hell.

"Please become friends with Neji-niisan again!" her small form was shaking and her voice sounded watery. Wonderful.

"What are you talking about? And stop...bowing. Man, girls are so _awkward_."

When she did sit up he almost told her to get back down. Hinata was about a tearful sentence away from turning on the waterworks and if it weren't for the fact that he was a little confused by her statement he probably would have started to try and leave.

"I know he's...sometimes um, blunt and can come off cold..."

Now he was _really_ confused; the hell was she talking about?

"A-and he's not...very sociable..."

"Hyuuga..."

"B-but he...he..."

_Don't start crying, don't start crying...shit, she's crying._

"Hyuuga..." he reached out a hand and had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do. Pat her shoulder? He sure as hell wasn't going to hug her or anything like that but he really wanted her to stop with the tears. "I really don't know what you're talking about. Uh, I'm not mad at him, if that's what you're thinking."

She apparently wasn't listening to him because not only did she not stop crying, she kept on with whatever speech it was she had been working on in her head to tell him. "Niisan...he might not show it but...he was really happy being your friend."

_I know that._ And he had ruined it like an idiot. "Look, I'm _not_ angry at your cousin..." _So would you _please_ stop crying already?_

Hinata shook her head. Apparently, he wasn't getting it; whatever 'it' was "N-no...you don't...I mean he...Niisan was _happy_."

Silence. There was something about her tone that didn't sit right with him _at all_.

Then she confirmed his bad feeling when she spoke again "Neji-niisan hasn't...smiled or laughed since I...since our mothers died. I-I was...five."

_Fuck_. He all of a sudden felt overwhelmed; what was he supposed to _do_? Shikamaru had miscalculated everything there was to know about the Hyuuga and the more he learned the more he wished he had remained ignorant.

If what Hinata was saying was true, he had been more than just a friend to Neji. Those small moments he had accepted and been content with had meant much more to him than the Nara ever could have imagined. How could he have _known _that? Neji's mask was good. No, not just good, _perfect_.

The day he had confronted Neji had been the first time he had really seen a chink in that mask. The sad looks had been hairline fractures. Now he knew; he hadn't even scratched the surface of what was truly underneath. Neji was a perfect shield; for others and for himself.

How was he able to stay sane? No one could keep their true selves hidden so perfectly, everyone eventually cracked once it got to be too much...yet Neji made it seem as if he was perfectly fine.

_That's...maybe that's why he cuts himself._ Was that his outlet? His way of dealing with it when it got to be too much? This was too much for _him_; he was just a simple guy who wanted to live a simple life. He wasn't a hero and he wasn't the kind of guy who could tell people what they needed or wanted to hear.

_Wait._ He looked at Hinata for a moment as his mind tried to cut in and override his conflicting emotions "You know." He didn't have to elaborate; the way her face had paled and how her hands flew to her face told him everything.

For a moment he actually felt angry with her. Why didn't she say or do _anything_? Sure, she always looked sad but when she interacted with her cousin it was as if she was completely oblivious to his pain. Then he had to tell himself that he didn't know the full story and if she was here now, obviously she cared and obviously she was doing _something_...it was simply not the best idea she'd ever had.

Then Hinata started _bawling_ and he sat there dumbfounded and hastily looked around to make sure they were actually alone. He didn't even want to imagine what the rumor mill would say about a scene like this. "I can't..." she buried her face in her hands "I can't d-do it anymore...I-I promised but...I don't care what happens to me! Not if niisan..."

He shouldn't have said anything. Why did he keep opening his mouth and saying things that dragged him deeper and deeper into the shit storm that was the Hyuuga household? Now Hinata knew that _he_ knew and it was too late. There was no way he could back out now, he had revealed too much.

_Fine._ He couldn't run away anymore so he might as well get an understanding of the battlefield he had just walked into "What did you promise?"

Wiping at her face, she pulled out a handkerchief and continued to sniffle and hiccup "Th-that I'd...pretend n-nothing was wrong...that _it_ wasn't happening. I promised, but I can't...Neji-niisan is _breaking_. I d-don't want to j-just sit back and w-watch him..." she couldn't say the words but he understood what she meant well enough.

The Nara really hated being intelligent right now because he was beginning to fully understand the complexity of the situation. What he was learning was beginning to make him sick to his stomach.

_This...isn't just physical abuse._ Neji's mask had to be held together with an extraordinary amount of willpower and resolve. If it was just him getting the shit kicked out of him everyday Shikamaru didn't think that would be enough to break a guy like him. The deep sadness he radiated from time to time, the fact that he cut himself – that was the sign of something deeply emotional going on.

A hard breath left him as he put his hands over his face. He wasn't even going to ask her; he knew what the answer would be and Shikamaru actually had to fight to urge to vomit. Backing out now wouldn't make him seem cold or look like a dick – he'd be practically inhuman. He honestly did care about Neji and this...he _couldn't_ sit back and do nothing because of his feelings.

But gods, what could he do?

"How long has it been going on?" he didn't look at her as he asked the question; he really couldn't.

More sniffling. Another hiccup "I w-was there the night it started...N-Neji-niisan was t-ten and I w-was going to be nine at the end of the y-year..."

_She watched as her cousin looked up at his father and uncle curiously. It was pretty late at night and Hinata was curious too._

"_Father?" he frowned "Uncle? Is something wrong?" they looked upset about something; but then again they always looked upset about something or another. Hanabi-chan was gone too and everything about their lives had changed so drastically over the past few years._

"_Come with us, Neji." His father extended his arm and began to guide the boy with his hand on his back "There's something we want to discuss with you."_

_He looked uneasy and she also felt uneasy. Something didn't feel right; they looked really upset. Had niisan done something wrong? Maybe he got into a fight at school and they were going to yell at him. It didn't make any sense, though, her niisan never got into fights with people; he kept to himself._

_When she was sure they were out of earshot she slid out of her room and quietly began to follow, her light footsteps and socks completely masking any sound she could have made. She knew that they had gone into their study because the light was on and the strip of light peeking out let her know that the door hadn't been closed all the way. She couldn't really hear anything because their voices were muffled, so she tiptoed closer to the door. If he really was going to get yelled out for fighting maybe she could come to his defense. Neji-niisan tried really hard to do well; it wouldn't be fair if he got yelled at when he wasn't guilty of anything._

"_W-what are you doing?"_

_Hinata paused just in front of the door, tensing. He had sounded confused and...scared? Were they going to hit him instead? Biting her lip, she leaned in and peeked through the crack. What she saw was not at all what she would have ever imagined she would have seen._

_Her cousin was sitting on the couch they had and her father was...doing something to his neck. She couldn't tell because his face was buried and Neji was trying to move away to no avail – her father's grip on his arm was keeping him pinned. Neji looked very confused and highly uncomfortable; even a little panicked._

"_Uncle...I don't..." his eyes widened when he was cut off from lips covering his. Hinata's hands flew to her mouth; something wasn't right. What was going on? She watched in horror as a hand slid underneath the boy's night shirt and he actually began to struggle, confused and afraid._

"_Neji," her father put what seemed to be a comforting hand through his nephew's long hair "calm down."_

"_I..." he kept trying to move away but was trapped "I'm...r-really tired. Can I...may I be excused? I..th-there's school t-tomorrow and..." he started squirming away again when the hand continued to go higher and her father once again buried his face in his nephew's neck. A pained whimper came from the boy "Uncle...p-please stop doing that." He sounded on the verge of tears. "I-I'd really like to go to b-bed now..." he suddenly looked up "Father..."_

_All she could see was a hand suddenly shooting out and slapping over Neji's mouth, effectively ending his weak protests. The look on his face as his father emerged; kneeling down beside him was one that would haunt her nightmares for years to come._

_He must have released his grip for suddenly her cousin was raising his voice. She could no longer see what they were doing to him, all she could see were his feet as they kicked out every now and then – showing that he was struggling._

"_What are you doing?" it was practically shouted "Stop!" the kicking became furious and she could see the two men were beginning to have a hard time of it "Let me go...please, I don't want...let go of me!"_

_She almost screamed when her uncle suddenly struck his son. "He said calm down."_

_Sheer horror consumed her when her cousin actually started screaming; right as an article of clothing fell to the floor. Night pants. Her father stood, his hands on his belt. She fled._

_The screams filled the house, however, even though she tried to cover her ears. "Stop it! Let go! Please...please don't...No! Stop, please! Please stop...please don't do this...stop it! _Father!"

_She curled up in a little ball in a corner of her room, rocking back and forth with her hands over her ears. Eventually the screaming stopped but she couldn't stop crying, couldn't stop shaking. She had no idea how long she sat there rocking, but stopping was impossible. Hinata was in a state of shock because that shouldn't have happened. What she just saw shouldn't have happened..._

_When her door slid open she jumped and was unable to help the small cry of fear that filled her. No, no, she didn't want them to come after her too..._

_It was Neji. She couldn't read any emotion on his face as he slid the door closed and began to limp towards her. Her head shook as she slid down the wall, her hands still over her mouth as she looked up at him, terrified._

_He stopped half way into her room "They know you were there." His voice was flat and cold and she still couldn't tell what he was feeling. His eyes were red, his bottom lip was split open and his hair was heavily disheveled. His hand was resting over ribs on his right side. The only thing that didn't look awful on him were his night clothes._

"_N-no..." tears continued to spill down her cheeks and he continued to close the distance between them. It was very obvious that he was in a lot of pain but was refusing to show it "Niisan please..."_

"_Hinata." His legs gave out right as he reached her and she let out a squeak, her hands automatically reaching out to his shoulders so that he didn't fall over on her. "Hinata," he continued as if was holding a normal conversation with her "I need you to, right here and now, promise me something. You have to promise, alright?" his hands gripped her shoulders and he straightened, his gaze boring into hers "I'm serious, Hinata. Promise me you'll do exactly as I say and do not, under any circumstances, break this promise. No matter what happens, do you understand?"_

_She didn't understand at all and her initial response was to continue to sob and hiccup at him. His grip tightened and he shook her lightly._

"_Hinata!" he sounded almost pleading "Promise me!"_

"_I...I promise!" she slapped her hands over her mouth when she raised her voice "I-I promise."_

_He continued to stare at her for a long time and then, seemingly satisfied that she would actually go through with it he spoke. "Everything you saw, everything you heard, it didn't happen." Her eyes widened and he shook his head "It didn't happen, you were asleep, you didn't get out of bed and you didn't follow me. You will not leave your room at night from now on, not even to go to the bathroom. You will see nothing in the future, you will know nothing, everything is perfectly fine and nothing bad is happening." _

_His grip on her shoulders became painful "No matter what, Hinata." He was insistent "I made a promise to our mothers so...just do as I tell you." His head lowered and his shoulders began to shake "Tell me you understand, Hinata, I _need_ you to do what I tell you or I can't..." he cut himself off "Say it."_

"_I...I p-promise." But it was wrong and she knew it was wrong. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. "Neji-niisan...why?" They both knew she was really asking._

_That seemed to be his breaking point, for he leaned forward, pressing his head against her shoulder and the wall. His hands slid from her shoulders and she could feel something warm and wet on her skin. When she put her arms around him – an automatic reaction – he started crying, his arms wrapping around her tightly._

"_I don't know." It sounded as if he had asked himself the same question many, many times. His arms tightened "I don't know, I don't know. I asked, begged, pleaded for them to stop and they wouldn't...no matter how many times I did they wouldn't...why didn't they stop? I tried so hard but they wouldn't stop, Hinata...they wouldn't stop..."_

_It would be the one and only time he would openly reveal his pain to her – the first and last time he would break down._

"A-after that night..." she shook her head "It was like...it never happened. Father and uncle treated us as they always did and Neji-niisan...he never flinched when they touched him in public, never reacted. He treated them as he always did a-and I almost did think it was some sort of sick dream. I know it didn't stop, night after night would go by in silence and niisan would have a new bruise or marking on him in the morning. B-but it's getting worse, the closer he gets to graduating and leaving the more violent they've become.

"I don't want to keep quiet anymore!" she looked Shikamaru in the eyes "They're..."

Shikamaru had, quite some time back, shut himself off emotionally. Not because he didn't care, but because it occurred to him that he _had_ to go through this logically. Legally, he wasn't entirely sure of what he could do, but as his mind scanned over and analyzed _everything_; his brain began to need answers for all the plans that were popping into his mind at an alarming rate.

"How are the Uchiha involved?" That was vitally important for many different reasons. He _had_ to know.

"What? Y-you mean...Sasuke-kun and Itachi-niisan?"

_Sasuke-_kun? Were the rumor mills true? Wait, Itachi was Sasuke's brother, wasn't he? "You guys grew up together." When she nodded it answered a lot of questions. The question of whether or not Sasuke's feelings for Hinata were romantic was inconsequential for now. He wanted to help and the Uchiha was a lot of things; a bullshitter was not one of them. If he wanted to help, it meant he already _had_ a plan.

He wasn't one hundred percent sure but the person that Sasuke had told Neji he needed to worry about was probably Itachi. For one, it was no secret that he was part of a notorious gang called the Akatsuki, so if anyone could fulfill that role it would be him; especially if Hinata was calling him 'niisan'. Obviously, the two Uchiha siblings were close to the Hyuuga cousins somehow. Why they pretended not to know each other in school wasn't something he was going to dwell on.

Going off of that, if Sasuke truly felt that Itachi was the one to worry about it meant that Itachi _would_ become involved if something provoked him enough. What exactly he would do was questionable but he knew it would involve securing Hinata's safety if he saw her as a sister. That and violence.

All of this...Neji dealing with the abuse, the Uchiha's involvement...all of it came down to Hinata. All of them were trying to protect her in their own way. In short, remove Hinata from the equation and the rest would fall into place.

But how would _he_ be able to set it up? If Neji hadn't gone to social services it was probably for a damn good reason; probably for the same reasons why their grandmother only got Hanabi instead of all three of them. Either that or he had been convinced over the years that ratting the sick bastards out would result in something bad happening. If that was true, it could potentially mean that his uncle and father were holding Hinata as a hostage to keep Neji cooperating.

He had a good idea of what Neji was planning because it was the only thing that made sense to him. More than likely, he would skip going to a university because if he left the house, Hinata would become their target. Legally, she could leave the house when she was eighteen, which was a year from now since she would be seventeen at the end of the year. Basically, if Neji kept taking the abuse for one more year he could then remove Hinata from that environment. Shikamaru guessed it was probably the easiest and most simple solution that Neji could think of and since he had dealt with it for so many years, what would one more year do?

The only problem, and it was only conjecture at this point, was that their parents _knew_ the game was ending. They probably knew that Neji had every intention of taking Hinata and bolting the day she turned eighteen. If the ever increasing injuries meant anything; they obviously weren't too keen on the idea. If they actually decided to be stupid and injure Neji enough to kill him, he had a sick feeling the Hyuuga's – Hinata included – would disappear. They were sick fucks, but they were intelligent sick fucks – they wouldn't have gotten away with their depravity for as long as they had otherwise.

Sasuke's timing for the confrontation meant that he and probably Itachi had come to the same conclusion he just did. The Uchiha family was powerful and influential...but if they hadn't struck before there must be a reason. Probably legal.

The looming threat was that if they struck poorly, Hinata would get hurt or the twins would probably leave with her. If they called social services, tried to take them to court, whatever; because Hinata was still a minor and living at that house the moment they got the opportunity they'd be gone and who knew what would happen to her at that point? That meant when they struck, it would have to be all at once.

How would they legally be able to get Hinata out of the house before Neji graduated?

Standing, he motioned for Hinata to do the same. He had a feeling he knew how, but he'd have to ensure that all the pieces were positioned and that meant he needed to know some things. "I need to speak with Uchiha."

After that; he was going to find and fully confront a certain Hyuuga.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** I'll be uploading these last two chapters today. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed.

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**3**

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"Aniki," Sasuke held his cell phone in his hand as Shikamaru stood beside him. It was on speaker. "that's…the dumbest idea you've ever come up with. _Ever_."

There was silence on the other end before a small sigh came through."Nara-san, I am sure someone of your intellect can understand and appreciate my proposal."

Damn. He hated being put in the middle of disputes but he bit the bullet. He wasn't even going to _ask_ how Uchiha Itachi knew about the fact that he was 'intelligent'. Whatever that was supposed to mean anymore. If he was so intelligent, he wouldn't have screwed up so badly with Neji's situation.

One thing at a time. Hinata first. Her safety meant Neji's safety; there was no getting around it.

"Actually," with a sigh – he really wasn't in the mood to deal with Sasuke's potential outburst – he put a hand in his pocket "that was the exact same idea I came up with." He couldn't believe he had guessed the situation with the Uchiha's and Hinata so clearly. "But what about your –"

"You need not worry about that." Itachi cut in "In any case the only issue with this would be Hinata herself."

Sasuke shrugged. "She might not like it but she'll do it for Neji. You know her, she won't even complain; that's how she is."

It was…weird seeing the Uchiha like this. It wasn't as if his attitude had shifted drastically or anything but him caring about a girl like Hinata – or _any_ female – was beyond him. He guessed there were always exceptions to the rule.

"Indeed." Itachi sounded thoughtful "Otouto, do you understand your role in this little game of ours?"

"Yeah." He was frowning as he turned his gaze to the one standing beside him "You, Nara? Neither of us would be able to get through to him. He's got too much pride and we don't exactly…get along."

Why did that not surprise him? "I got it." He lied. He had absolutely no fucking clue _what_ Neji would do when he found out everything although he was pretty sure he'd know how the guy would feel. Enraged would be one, possibly homicidal was another.

_He'll probably never trust any of us again._

Then again, had he ever?

_Gods, this is so fucked up._

Everything about who he was as a person felt highly uncomfortable with all of this. He was diving into some seriously deep shit; because it wasn't just about getting them to safety and locking away those sick bastards…on a personal level, it was much more than that.

He wanted to be with the Hyuuga; he wouldn't be doing all of this if his feelings weren't as deep as they were. There were only two problems with the scenario.

One, he had _no idea_ what Neji actually felt for him. Shikamaru knew how he felt and had come to terms with that but Neji could be straight for all he knew. Hell, he had thought himself straight until he had met the other male and everything went to high hell. Neji could actually be extremely homophobic; it wasn't unlikely at all.

Two, if by some chance Neji _did_ have feelings for him and something happened between them, Shikamaru's life would _never_ be simple again. No matter how one sliced it, no matter how much Neji _appeared_ to be fine; he was fucked up. No one would come out of the Hyuuga's situation _not_ fucked up and did he really want to deal with that? Neji would have complexes and issues out the ass; any relationship he would involve himself in would be strained and emotionally complicated. Would he finally break down after realizing that he didn't have to fight anymore? That it was over? Would the mask shatter and reveal a completely different person than the one the Nara had fallen for?

There were too many variables and this – despite what Itachi said – wasn't a game. Dealing with Neji on an emotional level was not the same as playing a game of shogi. There was no right way to 'win'; if winning was even possible.

It wasn't going to stop him from going through with it, but it…made him feel all sorts of things he never even knew he could feel and he was truly torn. He couldn't even go to anyone for advice with the exception of Chouji and the last thing he was going to do was get him involved in…_this._

That was when he realized his feelings went deeper than a crush or any sort of attraction. It scared the shit out of him. But he couldn't go back, the dice were rolling and the pieces were going to play their roles regardless.

"Nara." Shikamaru turned to Sasuke who had put his phone away. When had the conversation ended? Damn, he had been too lost in his thoughts. Not good. "I get why my brother is doing this and I have my own reasons but…why are _you_ involved? You always struck me as the sort of guy that would rather turn the other cheek and walk away; not rush in head first."

"Usually, I am." He admitted and left it at that. Sasuke could take what he wanted out of it.

The Uchiha frowned, looking over him as if he were some sort of puzzle. It was highly uncomfortable. "Do you…like Hyuuga or something?" for a moment Shikamaru panicked until the Uchiha spoke up again "I mean, I've never even seen you look at her…"

"It's not like that." He shrugged "And she's got enough competition between the two of you." When Sasuke looked at him as if he had lost his mind Shikamaru dropped it. If that guy wanted to deny the love triangle going on with his brother and Hinata, whatever. _That_ was a situation he absolutely was not getting involved in and did not want even to touch with a twenty foot pole. He had enough to worry about.

"It's not like that." Sasuke repeated as he had with Neji. "She likes the idiot and…" he shrugged "Whatever. Let me know now if you need my number; he's gonna want to know what the status is with Neji by tonight at least."

"I got it." He waved a hand dismissively and Sasuke snorted.

"Anyway; Neji goes to the lockers in the gym after practice because no one goes in there that late." He gave Shikamaru a side glance "_Don't_ ask me how I know that."

He had held no such intention "Alright." He turned to leave.

"Oh yeah, did you start crushing on Neji when you two started hanging out?"

_The fu-_ The Nara turned, a little stunned, and realized immediately the Uchiha had set him up.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he smirked at Shikamaru. "Gotcha." He turned his back to the Nara, waving. "Now we're even. See you."

And here he had almost allowed himself to think the guy wasn't a complete _blowhard_. Nope, Uchiha Sasuke was still an asshole and he still hated the guy. Good to know there was still some sort of consistency in his life.

xxxxx

It had been too difficult to find a good excuse as to why he would be at the guys locker room in the gym so late because anything that would have usually gotten him in trouble – sleeping during P.E. – were things he actually didn't get in trouble for anymore. So he couldn't claim that he was 'conveniently' there being stuck on clean up duty. After trying to go through dozens of other scenarios he decided to just say 'fuck it'. Neji wasn't stupid, he'd see right through all the bullshit so why waste the time and effort? The Nara was all about not putting forth any effort toward anything he didn't have to.

Since it was getting colder due to fall setting in, it was already dark by the time the karate club let out. This was good, because the less people saw him sneaking around like some sort of ninja to the locker rooms the better. It was really annoying and troublesome that both Uchiha and Neji had fanclubs because those chicks were all over the damn place discretely and he was trying _not_ to be seen. Girls were _stalkers_; he was convinced of this now. He was glad he wasn't attractive in the slightest; he probably would have transferred to an all guy's school or something.

The locker room wasn't huge and it was – thankfully – empty with the exception of who he believed to be Neji in the shower. Well, if the running water he was hearing was what he thought it was anyway. Exploring the area had him eventually coming across what he was sure was Neji's bag and an open locker. The water could be clearly heard so he was indeed in the showers.

Should he wait? Stupid question; why the hell would he walk in on the guy taking a shower…

Something white caught his attention and he glanced at the small strip of white bandage hanging out of the trash bin nearby. It was lightly stained with blood and, considering that Neji did wear bandages because of his 'problem' – calling him a 'cutter' felt screwed up to him – he took a glance just out of idle curiosity. What he saw stunned him.

He wasn't a nurse or skilled in medicine but there was no way _all_ of those bloody bandages were from two arms. Shikamaru couldn't believe how much was actually in there and something hard settled in his stomach. He felt ill all over again.

A pained gasp came from inside the showers and then heavy breathing. For a moment Shikamaru stood there, frozen, trying to force his brain to _be quiet_.

_Don't go in there. If you go in there, you're not going to like what you see._

But the other half, the one that held feelings for the Hyuuga that he had gotten to know and respect for the past year, had to know. The part of him that was seriously contemplating having this complicated guy in his life – if he wasn't adverse to the idea and Shikamaru was sure he probably would be after this – needed to know fully what he was dealing with. All of it.

Why he was trying to be quiet when he knew he wouldn't be heard was beyond him but he did it anyway. Neji was in the far corner stall which also happened to be the largest and the one that all the guys tried to get to first after P.E. The noises were louder now, it definitely sounded as if he was in pain. Not crying, but in pain. He took a deep breath, wondered briefly how the hell he got himself into this huge mess and then rounded the corner of the open stall.

_Holy shit._

The dozens upon dozens of white scars littering Neji's forearms had been expected. The fresh ones that were currently trailing thin rivulets of blood down his arms were bright red and looked angry. He had expected that.

He hadn't expected the cuts, scars, and gods only knew what else that littered Neji's back and thighs. One wickedly long cut along the Hyuuga's thigh was actually bleeding…along with the raw cuts he could see on his back.

_That's why he never lets anyone touch his back._ He had wondered, because he had thought it strange, but now he knew why. All of the injuries, he noticed, were in places that could be hidden. There were none on his calves, allowing him to wear shorts. His shoulders and neck, obviously, were untouched.

_Why?_ That was the only thing that could come to mind because…gods, _why_? Why would someone _do this_ to someone?

"_I don't know."_

His hands had been bracing against the wall, fingers bent in pain. Dark hair had been parted along his neck and tossed over his shoulder. Then abruptly he spun, eyes wide and wild as they landed on Shikamaru in surprise. What…? Damn, he must have said something out loud.

"Get out!" the Hyuuga roared at him and he actually turned and did just that; he walked out. His mind was reeling at what he had just witnessed.

Why was he even surprised? The guy had been beaten on and raped since he was ten; why was he surprised to see scars? Why should he have expected anything less when it was obvious that his father and uncle were _fucking insane_? They weren't just sick, they were deeply, deeply disturbed and gods what did he get himself _into_?

He didn't leave altogether; instead he found himself standing at the threshold of the shower room, leaning against the wall and staring blankly at nothing. His mind wasn't idle, he was truly and honestly trying to figure out how Neji was still alive because anyone else would have offed themselves years ago.

Not only was he still alive but he was able to execute the perfect illusion of himself. Strong, confident, self-assured. He acted so normal and Shikamaru didn't get how he was capable of doing such a thing. Was it truly because he wanted to protect his cousin? Was he hanging on because of her?

_He's not hanging on to anything_. The Nara suddenly realized. _That's just who he is._

Neji's illusion _wasn't_ an illusion; at least, not the deeper aspects of it. He _was_ strong; there was absolutely no way someone with a weak will and lack of determination could have acted as perfectly as Neji had all these years. To have been Hinata's shield, he had to have been strong enough to do it to begin with. The only weakness he had developed was cutting himself but Shikamaru would bet his shogi board Neji never _once_ thought about killing himself.

They didn't break him and that thought of that almost made him smile. The Nara had a feeling that those scars were the result of that, of them trying to break his will and _failing_.

"_I might be out of my league but from here on out, Nara Shikamaru, any win you get from me you will have to_ earn."

He didn't know why but he wanted to laugh. When he started shaking his head in disbelief he knew that he wanted to laugh in _relief_. Shikamaru understood that when it was all said and done, the Hyuuga would be standing as tall and strong as he always did because he was without a doubt one stubborn son-of-a-bitch. He was going to have his hang-ups, he was going to be fucked up still; but he wouldn't give up.

Damn. He didn't want to admit it but he might have actually fallen in love with the guy. It was ridiculous.

"Why are you here?"

The cold note to Neji's voice brought him crashing back to reality and hard. Standing up straight, he took in Neji's damp hair along with the long sleeved shirt and pants he had obviously changed into while in the shower. He saw how the Hyuuga was trying to close himself off but he knew better.

"Yo." Was the greeting and the Hyuuga's response was to blink at him, slightly surprised, before turning away and walking over to his open locker. "Was just in the neighborhood, I guess."

Neji snorted but it didn't sound angry. That was good, right? "You're an idiot." He actually sounded amused "Why did you follow me here?"

Was he going to be able to play this off right? He had always sucked at saying the right thing when it came to personal issues. His intelligence was in strategy, not socializing. He scratched the back of his head, leaning against the wall again "You know why I'm here, Neji."

"Actually," he turned towards him slightly, pulling out his uniform jacket. "I don't. I thought I made it pretty clear that I no longer wished to continue," he waved his hand in the air dismissively and turned back to his locker "whatever it was we were."

Shikamaru decided he was going to read into that because Neji had left that too open ended. He didn't really know how it made him feel "Well, maybe _I_ wanted to talk to you. Apologize for being a jerk or whatever." He wanted to put his hand over his face; he sounded like such an idiot right now.

The Hyuuga didn't immediately respond. Instead, he turned and fully faced Shikamaru, searching. When he could find nothing, he tried to trap the Nara "How much did she tell you?"

He didn't fall for it. Instead, he frowned "Who? And about what?"

White eyes narrowed "Don't feign ignorance."

He shrugged "Don't be vague." It was going to be a huge pain in the ass but he had to get Neji reacting; he wasn't going to reach him on an emotional level if Neji didn't _show_ any emotion.

More silence. Then the Hyuuga shook his head "What do you get out of this, Nara? I gave you the out you needed, I had fully expected you to take it because that's the sort of person you are. You enjoy having a simplistic and stress free life, it is one of the reasons you are so incredibly lazy."

Damn he hated what he was about to do "Is that the reason you wanted to be around me so badly?" Neji's eyes widened briefly before narrowing again; answering the question with silence. He sighed. "I'm not getting anything out of this and yeah, you're right. Normally I would have turned tail and ditched this whole mess right when I realized you were doing…" he nodded his head towards Neji's arms "that. But I didn't."

This genuinely confused the other male "Why?" he couldn't help but to ask.

He waited until he had locked gazes with the Hyuuga before speaking "You know why."

One moment Neji was standing at his locker, the next he was in his face and Shikamaru found himself being slammed against the lockers. A fist slammed next to his head and he could see from his peripheral thin trails of blood at the massive dent the older male just made on the metal door with his fist. Slowly, his head raised and white eyes tinted with lavender bored into his dark.

_I'm almost there._

A humorless smile emerged on the Hyuuga's face and he leaned forward "Don't fuck with me, Shikamaru." It was said low. "Do you take me for a fool? I know Hinata approached you, I know she told you everything so why are you here?" the smile spread and he had to admit it made him look…disturbing. "Come to see if I'm truly the sick fuck she described?"

His eyes narrowed at the Hyuuga. "No."

"Oh?" He took a couple of steps back. "So then she didn't tell you everything?" he feigned surprise.

_Fuck._ Damnit, this was…kind of what he wanted but that didn't make this easy. He didn't want to do this. Doing this…it wasn't him but he knew if he could just get the Hyuuga to..."Neji…"

He closed the distance between them and refused to allow the Nara to look away "Did she tell you what they do to me at night? What I have to do to them…what I've _had_ to do for the past eight years?" He actually closed his eyes when Neji tilted his head and pressed their bodies together. Shikamaru could feel lips near his ear and fought down the urge to shudder when he felt a warm hand slip underneath his shirt. "Did she tell you, Nara? Is that why you're here? Come to see if I'm really the sick fag in the stories?"

That was it. No more, even he had limits and the Hyuuga had just pushed him over the edge. With a growl he grabbed the front of Neji's shirt and stood to his full height, making the other have to lean back a bit "Stop trying to fuck with me Hyuuga!" he never raised his voice and here he was practically shouting "I'm not that shallow and you're _not that stupid_. You _know_ why I'm here!"

When lips slammed against his in a bruising kiss his hand actually delved into damp hair, gripping tightly. He had never even kissed someone before but it didn't take him terribly long to figure it out with the Hyuuga practically shoving his tongue down his throat. It was a hard and desperate kiss. One hand was gripping his shirt while the other was cupping the back of his head, keeping him from pulling away from the older male.

How long they were like that he had no idea because he was too busy feeling. The way Neji's lips felt against his, how it felt to have their bodies pressed together. Did he actually reach him? Did he actually not screw it up for once?

Neji began to pull away but Shikamaru, on autopilot, raised his hands, framing the Hyuuga's face. Looking into white eyes with his own hooded, he tilted his head and pulled the other back in. They went slow this time and it was easier for him to adjust and try to mimic Neji's actions. A soft sigh left one of them and when he wrapped an arm around his waist the Hyuuga pulled back.

He wrapped both arms around the Hyuuga and he in turn buried his face in Shikamaru's neck, sighing. "Neji," he paused as he tried to decide how to word himself "yeah, I know. I know everything. Even before I learned all of it I knew things weren't right but it wasn't my business – it still isn't – so I didn't say anything. It's not like I wanted to get involved...it happened because...because you happened. I know the truth and I'm _here_. You're not sick; _they're_ the sick fucks and..." man, sappy scenes just weren't his thing.

Thankfully, Neji seemed to understand and silenced him with another kiss. He felt...a myriad of things and a lot of them didn't make sense to him because they were so unfamiliar. What he _did_ know was that the nightmare was about to end for the Hyuuga and he actually wanted to be there for him. It was insane but he wanted Neji to let go because he needed to so badly and he wanted to be the person to hold him up.

His life would never be simple again but yet he felt good; because Neji deserved someone to be there for him and he didn't mind being that person. The revelation shocked him probably more than anything else ever would; but he couldn't find himself regretting it either.

Fingers began to undo the buttons to his shirt and before he could muster enough coherent thought to say something, the Hyuuga beat him to the punch. "Shikamaru," a chill went up his spine at the way Neji said his name "since that first day...I've held feelings for you. I never thought that I could or would and even though I had known I should have left you alone and walked away once I had realized, I didn't. You live life so simply and whenever I was around you I didn't think about anything but you. Us. Whatever it was we were doing at the time.

"I didn't think about what they were going to do to me that night, I didn't _care_. I didn't think about how I was going to save my cousin from them because I was the _only_ thing keeping them from hurting her. For an hour or a few hours a day none of it _mattered_ and gods, Shikamaru, you have _no idea_ how much I had needed that."

It was time to tell him. Hinata was probably being taken care of and with Neji being eighteen, he'd never have to step foot in that house again. "Neji, I –"

The Hyuuga kissed him, effectively ending his sentence. The fingers that had been unbuttoning his shirt had finished their task and a hard noise escaped him when warm hands began to slide up his sides, chest, and back down to his abdomen. Parting, he tilted his head to give Neji better access to his neck, his breaths coming out shaky. He was beginning to feel a little out of control which probably had everything to do with how emotional everything was.

"Shikamaru." His voice was a whisper against his skin "Say no if you want but I –"

"Alright." He knew what the Hyuuga wanted...no, _needed_. It was probably all kinds of wrong and not a good idea but he didn't always make the best decisions. Sometimes that was okay. "But not here."

"The prefects room. I have the key."

_Am I seriously openly talking about this?_ "Alright." He was beginning to feel really awkward and decided that the less talking he did the better in this case.

Surprisingly, the Hyuuga didn't pounce on him like he thought he would once they entered. The room – thankfully – had a door that couldn't be seen through. He didn't turn on the light but there wasn't a need, they could see well enough as their eyes adjusted and there was a bit of light coming in from the closed blinds.

Slender fingers slid into his hair and then his tie was gone; thick strands of hair falling down to the nape of his neck. Those same fingers continued to move through and Shikamaru closed his eyes because it actually felt pretty good. Lips pressed against his neck from behind.

"Shikamaru. Thank you."

He sighed "Yeah."

Hands moved from his shoulders down to his arms and then they were facing each other. Warm lips moved over his once more, fingers brushing along his cheek and jaw. Neji kissed him slowly, as if he were savoring something; which was probably not far from the truth. He let the other lead; some of it him being unsure of what to do and the other part too afraid to do something that would remind him of _them_.

His back hit the wall and they slid down to the floor, the Hyuuga practically straddling him. Shirt unbuttoned once more, he tilted his head back when the other teen began moving his hands over his skin. He could feel his body slowly beginning to react and it hit him then that he was about to do something irreversible. Shikamaru should be trying to talk some sense and reason into Neji; because this was going _way_ too fast.

Then he thought about how tonight, after this, the last encounter the Hyuuga would remember having would be with someone he actually cared about. So he remained silent; because he needed that. _They_ needed it; because this was it, they were stuck together.

He shrugged out of his shirt when Neji pushed the fabric over his shoulders, letting the other close the distance as hands continued to move over him and lips trailed down his neck. This was...intense. That was the only word he could think of for it and while he felt apprehensive; he was actually excited as well.

Suddenly, Neji pulled back and was staring at him in confusion. Shikamaru looked back at him – why was he stopping? – until he saw the Hyuuga begin to look unsure and uncomfortable. It took him a moment to realize that it was because he wasn't responding.

_Gods, I suck at this._ He hesitated for a moment, raising a hand to awkwardly cup the Hyuuga's cheek. "I've never done this before." Embarrassing but true.

Neji smiled, relaxing slightly. "I know."

Shikamaru wasn't sure whether he should have felt offended by that or not. "I don't want to do anything...wrong."

It took him only a second to realize what the Nara was truly saying and he fully relaxed to Shikamaru's relief.

It was so weird; Neji was so strong and yet so weak...but only around him. Was that good then, that he was allowing himself to let his guard down?

"If I do something you don't like, tell me." He leaned back in and Shikamaru was unable to bite back the low sound that came from him when Neji trailed his tongue up his neck. A hand gripped his wrist, guiding him to surprisingly soft skin underneath the older teen's shirt. "Just don't grab me." Was all he needed to say.

Mimicking Neji's actions, he slid hands up his sides. The Hyuuga gasped and bit down lightly on sensitive skin. Logical thought was beginning to take a back seat as lips moved lower, teeth trailing lightly over his collarbone; a light kiss on the shoulder.

Although he had been told he could touch the other male, Shikamaru didn't really know what he wanted to do. The most he had ever given someone outside of his family was a hug, and that had been forced out of him via Ino. Now he was in the prefects' room in school about to have sex with someone and he actually didn't even know where they stood at concerning...whatever this was between them.

He almost wanted to ask but then the Hyuuga's lips began to ghost down lower on his skin and he felt himself tensing. White eyes looked up at him and brows furrowed. Then came the slight bit of guilt. He started to pull back again.

Shikamaru reached out for him, not wanting him to get the wrong idea again "Neji, wait –" he cut himself off when he was given a warm and understanding smile. It was small, because Neji simply wasn't an overly expressive individual, but there nonetheless.

"I'm sorry. I over reacted because..." he looked away but thankfully didn't seem upset or sad. "When you confronted me I thought that was it, our time was over because I couldn't drag you into what was going on. I still don't want to; I only need one more year so..."

Shit. He really needed to tell Neji what was going on...but blurting it out wasn't going to cut it "Let's go to my house." Shikamaru grabbed his shirt to put it back on – their moment was over and he was glad yet not. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to – not if the uncomfortable tightness in his pants meant anything – but it had felt incredibly awkward.

They both stood up at the same time and the Nara noticed that his...whatever he was to him, looked rather uncomfortable. Taking a few steps forward to close the distance, he somewhat stiffly put his hand on Neji's shoulder. Being affectionate was going to take some getting use to. "What's up?"

A hand went through chocolate brown hair and he looked even more uncomfortable "This is...going to sound...incredibly _girly_," the Hyuuga sighed "but do you...?" Now he was looking awkward as hell. "I told you I had feelings for you from the beginning. I don't have to tell you how deep those feelings go; I know you understand me enough. I just...I'm not expecting you to –"

His face felt as if it was on fire when he had walked up to Neji and kissed him. After a moment he pulled back, coughing and turning his head away "That good enough of an answer?" Because he wasn't going to say it; Neji was just shit out of luck on that one.

_Man, this relationship stuff is already a pain in the ass._

There was something about Neji actually blushing and looking equally embarrassed that made him feel at ease. Or maybe it gave him hope, because while they had a _long_ road ahead of them; he knew the Hyuuga would be able to handle it. Maybe he could even get him to stop cutting himself.

After a moment of awkward silence the Hyuuga decided to cough "Well, um...Hinata-sama texted me earlier saying that she would be staying over at a friend's tonight so I...suppose I could stop by your house for a little while before I go home."

_You're not going back home...not if I can help it. _"Alright then, let's go." He paused "But just so I have this straight...what _are_ we anyway?" He actually was kind of curious since he had almost had sex with the guy. A title would be nice; he'd even take 'friends with benefits'.

Neji looked thoughtful "How about we skip the emotionally complicated and awkward bullshit and just say we're dating?"

"Works for me." Simple worked best for him anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

xxxxx

"I'm sorry, but I am almost positive I heard you incorrectly." Neji stared at Shikamaru's cell phone as if it would somehow give him some sort of incurable disease "Did you, Uchiha, just say, in your own words, that your brother just_ married my cousin?_"

He was so glad his parents were out for the rest of the week at a medical conference a long shinkansen ride away. They were sitting on the couch in Shikamaru's house, Neji sitting close enough for their thighs to be touching. He tried not to think about that but since his body was still a little...tense from earlier it was difficult.

Sasuke sighed on the other end "Look, I _told_ them it was a stupid idea, okay? I want to make this clear, I was not endorsing this at all. Aniki came up with it and approached Hinata –"

"And I'm sure that had _nothing_ to do with the fact that he's wanted to screw her for years." The Hyuuga snapped and Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably. Wasn't Itachi at least five years older than them? He supposed that wasn't a big deal in the long run and they all _did_ grow up together but still.

"Fuck you, Neji." The Uchiha sounded pissed "You were there with us growing up; you know it's not like that."

White eyes turned to his host "Were you in on this?" when Shikamaru opened his mouth he shook his head "Never mind, these two _fools_ would have done this regardless." He turned back the phone "Where is your pedophile of a brother? I know he's there." He paused briefly "You know, I'm quite confused as how me telling you two _not_ to get involved resulted in you doing something _incredibly stupid_."

Well, Neji didn't look homicidal but he was pretty enraged. The Nara hoped he'd keep his rage focused on the Uchiha and not turn it on him.

"Neji." Itachi's voice was as cool and calm as always and Shikamaru wondered if there was anything that could piss the older Uchiha off. "Even Nara was able to see the situation once he thought about it. All of us knew that you were planning on simply taking the beatings for another year even after you graduated. For one, I am not sure if you've noticed, but watching you slowly die has been deeply affecting your cousin." Neji stiffened and scowled, even though Itachi couldn't see it "She actually has come to us numerous times; did you honestly believe she was going to merely sit back and continue to watch when everyone here knows that Hiashi and Hizashi would probably kill you before you would have gotten the chance to flee with her?"

"Uchiha –"

"Hyuuga." He cut him off "Look at the people around you and look at your situation. We might have meddled in your affairs, but it's _over_."

The pause that settled was tense. When Shikamaru looked over at Neji his expression was carefully closed off before he sighed, shaking his head "I didn't _ask_ you to get involved."

"Normally, when a true friend or family member sees someone they love suffer; the other person doesn't _have_ to ask. You have been afraid of their wrath for so long your solution to the problem was the only solution you believed would work. Now you know that there had been alternatives; all you had to do was accept a little outside help.

"Now, before you start going off on another tangent concerning our actions just know that we did not twist Hinata's arm. We brought it up once and she agreed on the spot, that is how much she loves you. At sixteen an individual can marry."

"I thought the minor had to have their guardian's permission." Neji sounded confused and Itachi chuckled.

"Please, Hyuuga. Who do you think you're dealing with? _Your_ family might not have any connections or influence any more, but _we_ don't have that problem. In any case, Sasuke is not yet eighteen and that would have made things difficult. I, however, am well over eighteen so it is not a case of two minors running off and doing something moronic. And despite what you might think, I have no intentions of screwing your cousin." He sounded highly amused. "I don't even plan on being around; I am a rather busy man. The marriage is to get those two away from Hinata legally and since you are already eighteen they cannot keep you. Hinata will be protected at the Uchiha manor and you are more than welcome to stay there as well to ensure your cousin's virtue stays intact." He was chuckling again.

Neji's left brow twitched "You're still a manipulative bastard, Itachi."

"Yes, but I'm an _intelligent_ manipulative bastard and _you_ are a free man. You're welcome, by the way."

"Go to hell."

"I have no intentions of remaining 'married' for long." Itachi continued as if Neji hadn't said anything "Once Hinata is eighteen she may petition for a divorce and that will be that. If you're _that_ upset about it, I'll even make the records of it completely disappear; that is not an issue. As for my affiliation with the Akatsuki – yes, I'm almost positive you were going to ask that next – it's not something you need to worry about. It will not affect Hinata at all, I will not allow it." There was a small pause "Neji, I understand that you are upset, I truly do, but –"

"No." sighing, the Hyuuga put a hand through his hair "It's fine." He sounded tired. "I knew you two knew what was going on all these years; I knew you two were going to do something eventually and I know you'd never hurt Hinata-sama." he dipped his head, resting his face in his hands "So...thank you."

"She's asleep in the guest room, by the way." Sasuke came back in "You want me to go wake her up?

"No. Leave her be." Leaning back on the couch, Neji put a hand over his eyes "Tomorrow is Friday but tell Hinata-sama not to go to school. In fact, until our fathers –"

"About that." Itachi again "That has also been taken care of. We had been hesitant of doing anything with Hinata still bound to them legally but now that it is no longer an issue...they are no longer an issue. In fact, feel free to go and collect your belongings tomorrow; I promise you they will not be returning to that house for a few days at least."

Neji dropped his hand and sat up. Shikamaru took in his expression and turned back to the phone "It's late. Tell Hyuuga to skip anyway, I guess Neji and I will be skipping too."

"Well fuck; if everyone else is skipping..." that was Sasuke in the background "I didn't want to take that dumb history test anyway..."

"Very well." Itachi sounded distant himself "If you need anything, call Sasuke. I won't be around much after tonight. Gentlemen." He hung up.

Closing his phone shut, the Nara took in the blank look on Neji's face and hesitated. Should he put a hand on his shoulder? Around his shoulder? Would he freak out? He felt like he should do something now that they were officially 'together' but he wasn't entirely sure what would be good or bad and he had the feeling that it was all starting to sink in for Neji; meaning something was bound to happen.

Hands moved over an angular face, palms settling on his forehead. It was difficult to tell what Neji was thinking with his hair in the way "'It's over' He says." Had it not been so quiet in the room, Shikamaru wouldn't have heard it. "Just like that? Just like that it's over." It was barely a whisper.

_What do I do?_ "Uh..."

"A moment." The older teen sighed "Just...give me a moment."

"Alright." Shikamaru felt a little incompetent at his inability to do anything for Neji at such an obviously crucial moment. Maybe he should have actually listened to Ino when she had been rambling on and on about 'the perfect boyfriend'. Then he realized that it was _Ino_ he was thinking about and discarded that notion. He seriously doubted Neji would appreciate him giving him flowers, chocolate, and singing ballads. The latter part made him feel like less of a man just thinking it.

After a while he saw Neji's shoulders begin to shake and Shikamaru sat up, tensing. Was he...crying? "Neji?"

His guest sat up abruptly, looking up at the ceiling and he was indeed crying. A smile was on his lips but he looked as if he was in a state of shocked disbelief. "Would you...believe me if I told you right now that I actually feel incredibly numb? Because really...how am I _supposed_ to feel? Just like that? Like the snap of the fingers; it's over. No more." He closed his eyes as tears continued to slide down his cheeks. "Shikamaru, if I opened my eyes, would this still be real? Because right now...I feel like I'm some part of a sick dream. I'm going to wake up and this...all of this would have been a dream and they'll..."

_They'll be there...waiting for me._

Neji lowered his head again and Shikamaru remained silent, his expression grim. He continued to refrain from touching him, understanding that right now the other male was in a very delicate state emotionally. He had no idea how he would be feeling in Neji's shoes and while it made him feel screwed up, he really didn't _want_ to know. "It's not a dream." Was what eventually came to mind to say. "If you want, I can pinch you or something."

That made his guest start laughing outright and he put his palms over his eyes "Why is it _now_ that I feel like I'm losing my mind?" still chuckling, he shook his head "I actually...don't know what's real and what's not right now. Everything feels like..."

He found himself leaning forward but still unsure about touching him "What do you want me to do, Neji?"

"I don't know." He whispered it, the smile disappearing, eyes still covered.

It wasn't until their gazes met that Shikamaru realized he had leaned forward, guiding Neji's chin with his fingers. White eyes widened in slight surprise and for a second the Nara hesitated, confused by his own actions. He had no idea what he was doing, only that looking at Neji like that...it was doing something to him. It made him want to...

No response came from Neji initially when their lips brushed and once again Shikamaru hesitated before pushing forward, pressing their lips more firmly together. He kept his eyes opened and watched as widened eyes lowered, becoming hooded. Slowly, arms wrapped around his neck and his guest tilted his head, gently leaning in.

"It's okay..."Shikamaru paused, not really knowing what he was saying or meaning. He felt like his emotions were all over the place right now. Was this what love did to someone? Normally tears would have made him want to walk away, instead he actually _wanted_ the Hyuuga to do so, but there was more to it than that. "Even if it's just for tonight or even a few hours...take the mask off." He felt himself smiling slightly. "It's not like you have anything you need to hide."

He was pulled back into their kiss but they both deepened it, wrapping their arms around each other. Something tight and hot gripped his chest as Neji clung to him and he tasted the faint trace of salt from tears. A strong, unnamed emotion filled him. It wasn't love, although the emotion was involved; it was something else. It wasn't discomfort at Neji somewhat breaking down finally after eight years of holding strong; for some reason he _wanted_ that.

Shikamaru wanted Neji to let go, to feel comfortable enough to do so because...

Protect. That's what the emotion was; he wanted to protect him. To become the shield Neji was seriously going to need because this was only the beginning. With Neji, and _only_ Neji, he actually wanted to go out of his way and be motivated. He wanted to put forth the effort.

He almost laughed. No wonder he had been unable to figure it out; it was everything he had strived hard _not_ to be.

A gasp filled the room as he felt hot lips on his neck and he began to pull back, bringing Neji along with him to sprawl out on his couch. He felt a chill move through him at the sensation of someone warm on top of him. Shikamaru pulled Neji back up, his hand cradling the back of the Hyuuga's head as brought him down into a kiss. It was a little awkward when Neji parted for him and he slowly began to explore the other's mouth with his tongue. His inexperience didn't seem to bother his guest; instead he tried to lead, showing him through actions what to do.

Above him he felt Neji's body tremble when he slid his free hand underneath the Hyuuga's shirt, sliding up his stomach and chest. A soft moan. Tongues mingled and lingered, it wasn't like the passionate kisses from the locker room but they were no less intense. Neji's skin felt warm to the touch and as he idly trailed his fingers over hardened muscles there was another tremble and hips lowered.

Apprehension emerged briefly when he felt something hard against his upper thigh which quickly faded when it rubbed against his thickening erection. They parted and his hand slid down to Neji's side, his eyes closing when the friction increased. Damn, this was...

"Wait." The voice was low and husky as Neji began to pull back, frowning "I thought you...earlier you seemed...uncomfortable."

He found himself shrugging "That was then." He was surprised to realize he was being completely honest.

Neji gave him a wry smile "So you changed your mind in the span of an hour? Really."

"Maybe your crazy is rubbing off." He lightly joked and sat up a bit, his hand delving into brown hair again "And yeah, I changed my mind. Happened just like that."

Surprise flickered for a moment before Neji shook his head, pressing his hand against Shikamaru's chest and lowering back down on the couch "Idiot."

Shikamaru snorted "Tell that to everyone else. They seem to think I'm some sort of genius; it's a pain." Lips parted, a hard breath escaping when the sharp sting of a bite on his neck was soothed over with a warm tongue. Somehow during their exchange his shirt had been unbuttoned because he could feel Neji's hands sliding up his chest and he resisted the urge to raise his hips into the other.

No matter what he wasn't going to make the moves; not until he was able to determine what Neji would and would not accept. This wasn't about him, even though he definitely wanted the other male. He kept his hands at Neji's sides, because that seemed to be something he liked. "Ah!" the sharp and somewhat startled cry escaped when teeth closed in on a dark nipple, tongue swirling. He grunted and rocked his hips up automatically, needing to alleviate the growing tension in his groin. He really wanted to take his pants off.

"Shikamaru." Neji was once again pulling back. Their gazes met and he could tell the Hyuuga was searching for something; what was anyone's guess. "Are you _sure_ about this?"

That question had nothing to do with them having sex. More than likely, Neji was going over everything he had when Shikamaru had deliberated on what he wanted to do and how he felt about the male above him. By all rights, someone like him should have run away screaming, even after everything.

He was fine with that; he had never expected Neji to blindly believe in his feelings for him. He knew he'd have to prove it.

So he sat up, ignoring the tight discomfort near his groin, and shrugged "I'm here, aren't I?" standing, he looked down at Neji who looked a mixture of surprised and perplexed "My room would be better." He leaned forward, offering his hand to Neji, who stared at it blankly. Embarrassment and irritation filled him "Just take the damn hand, Neji." Damn troublesome, pain in the ass...

Smiling slightly, he took the offered hand and allowed Shikamaru to help him up. They didn't hold hands on the way up – that was just weird – but he didn't at all complain when the door closed and he was pressed against the wall, hands exploring. Lips claimed his and just as he had closed his eyes they snapped open when a hot hand began rubbing the bulge in his pants. He hissed because it felt...well a hell of a lot different than _his_ hand being there.

Deft fingers had quickly unbuckled his belt and then that hand slipped underneath, wrapping around him. He moaned out loud, hips moving to the rhythm of Neji's hand.

"Does that hurt?" he was asked and Shikamaru opened an eye.

"Are you serious?" He didn't _seriously_just ask him that, did he? Feeling emboldened, actual satisfaction emerged when Neji's head tipped back slightly and his own moan filled the dark room. It was enough to make him forget that he actually had a hand on another guy's dick; something he _never_ thought in his _wildest_ dreams would ever happen.

Cool air hit his legs as his pants dropped to the floor and he realized that Neji was still fully clothed. There was something wrong with this picture but then again...would he? There were all those scars...

As if reading his mind, Neji pulled back only enough to begin unbuttoning his shirt. Despite his bravado, Shikamaru could see that he was just as nervous. Steeling himself, when Neji shrugged out of the shirt he moved forward, wrapping his arms around the long haired teen and started kissing his neck. His hands ghosted over Neji's back, not wanting to hurt him but also wanting to show that it didn't bother him. It was impossible to be bothered over the painful proof that Neji's will couldn't be broken no matter what.

Neji shivered a bit at the contact but he didn't flinch or stiffen, so that was good. "Does it hurt when I do that?" Shikamaru asked and the response wasn't what he had been expecting. Leaning until his forehead was against the Nara's neck he let out a shaky breath.

"No, it...it doesn't hurt at all." He sounded sad, happy, and in awe at the same time.

Had he not already realized he was in love with Neji that response probably would have done it. Like in the classroom he slid down to the floor, pulling the older male with him. This time when Neji began to trail his kisses lower he forced himself to relax, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Neji..." he briefly wondered if every time they did this if they would have to dance around and ask permission for everything.

"I told you already, Shikamaru," he didn't pull up although he did make the other raise his hips so he could pull his boxers down "When I'm with you, none of that matters." He felt his breath hitch and his hands dug into the carpet when he could feel Neji's breath on him "Just us."

His back arched, the Hyuuga's name coming out as a moan when wet heat closed over him, sucking. Had Neji's hand not been on his hip he would have thrust up in reaction to the incredible amount of pleasure starting from his groin and spreading throughout his body. There was the sound of rustling fabric that he ignored because it had absolutely nothing to do with the tongue wrapping around him and doing all sorts of amazing things.

Brows furrowed in confusion when the Hyuuga pulled back just a bit to slide two fingers into his mouth...which actually looked hot as hell. "Hey, what are you –" lips wrapped back around his cock and he stopped giving a damn about whatever it was he had been about to ask. If you couldn't remember it obviously wasn't important, right? Or something like that.

Idly, he was pleased when Neji didn't seem upset about him sliding his fingers through his hair. He didn't grip or pull; his fingers actually rubbed along his scalp, earning him an appreciative – and pleasurable – hum for his efforts.

The entire time he had been too distracted to see what his partner had been doing. He was briefly disappointed when the heat lifted and Neji sat up. It registered then that Neji was actually naked and how did that happen? Disappointment turned to confusion when he was actually straddled. Confusion turned to apprehension and anxiety when he felt a hand grab him as Neji positioned himself. Wait, was this...okay?

"Don't worry." The Hyuuga looked amused as he took in his lover's expression "Shikamaru, I'm not some fragile doll, you know. If I really felt uncomfortable with this..." both let out a gasp and groan as he slowly began to fill Neji. It didn't seem as if he was in any pain. "I wouldn't..." hands slid up his chest to his shoulders and it took everything in him not to grab Neji's hips as tight, warm muscles wrapped around him. He found himself panting "be here." Neji finished and then he was _moving_, causing Shikamaru to cry out.

He arched his back, dark eyes hooded, hands sliding up the Hyuuga's sides and gently up his back as hips moved. There was absolutely no way to describe how amazing it felt to be inside someone but Shikamaru now knew why guys liked and wanted sex all the damn time.

It wasn't just that. Lazy but sharp eyes took in the way long brown hair spilled over Neji's body as it came out of its tie. He took in the other male's flushed face and parted lips. White eyes were also hooded and in the darkness it almost seemed as if they lightly glowed. Small sounds of pleasure came from him and when he let out a sharp breath and arched his back, rolling his hips into him, he almost thought he'd hit his limit right then and there.

"You're..." he thrust his hips up to meet the other as Neji increased his pace. His hands settled along the Hyuuga's waist as lightly as he could under the circumstances. The Hyuuga had asked for only one thing; not to grab him, so he wouldn't. Hands framed his face as Neji bent down and took his lips. Hair tickled his arms and shoulders; one hand slid down over a thigh, fingers lightly digging into skin.

"I'm what?" the words were whispered against his lips just before he felt the tip of his tongue trail across. Leaning forward, Shikamaru darted his own tongue out, mingling briefly before he sank his fingers into chocolate brown hair and pulled the Hyuuga in for a hard kiss. Shikamaru jerked his hips up as he felt his body tighten almost painfully; coming dangerously close to release.

The response was a startled cry as Neji's lips tore from his and he arched his back "Th-that...again..."

Understanding, he began to thrust his hips up earning him loud moans from his lover. Nails dug into his shoulders almost painfully "Harder."

"Shit, Neji, you're killing me." Was the honest response because his body was climbing and he wasn't going to be able to last much longer. His hands had to grip the Hyuuga's waist as he complied. Another short moan escaped because gods he was almost there; just a little bit more...

The pain in his shoulders from Neji's blunt nails increased as the older male dipped his head, a low grunt escaping. Then he pushed his body forward as far as it would go, little gasps and moans filling the room as he hit his peak. Muscles tightened around him and his head tipped back as he felt himself reach his peak and spill over, his mind blanking out for the first time as waves of pleasure washed over him. He was only vaguely aware of something warm spilling over his stomach as the two clung to each other, riding out their orgasms.

It was like coming down from an incredible high and the Nara was panting heavily as coherent thought began to trickle back in. His hands slid up and down Neji's thighs and sides as his gaze took in his ceiling fan. Neji leaned against him, resting his head on his shoulder, so he wrapped his arms around his lover in response.

Lover. It was such a strange word to him and felt foreign even though that was exactly what had just transpired between them. He blinked when arms tightened tightly around his body and Neji's shoulders began to shake. What the...?

"Neji?" he tried to sit up and push the other back but the Hyuuga absolutely refused to move "Neji...damn..." had he? "Did I hurt you or something? Did it hurt?" Man, he didn't know if he'd forgive himself if he actually hurt him...

"No."

Shikamaru froze at the tone and he felt something simmer in his stomach and rise. An unnamed emotion began to form.

"No, Shikamaru..." Neji's voice was heavy and watery. One hand rose to cup Shikamaru's cheek and the Hyuuga buried his face deeper into the crook of his lover's neck "it didn't hurt..." he was openly sobbing "It didn't hurt _at all_."

Then just like that, he knew what the feeling was. His arms tightened around Neji's frame as anger, rage, and the new emotion, _hatred_ filled him. Not the sort of hatred that he thought he had felt for Uchiha; this was deep and hot and for a split second he was actually a little afraid of himself.

If he ever met the two that had tried to break Neji, he'd probably try to kill them. He wanted to feel ashamed for the thought but he just couldn't be bothered to care.

xxxxx

Neji held his hand out, a rather arrogant smirk on his face as he snapped his cell phone closed with the other. "Pay up, Nara."

Shikamaru had absolutely no idea what the hell his boyfriend of four years was talking about "Huh?" a brow rose "What are you talking about?"

"The bet." He insisted, still smirking "Pay up, I won."

"The hell you talking about, Hyuuga? What bet..." his eyes widened and Neji's smirk spread "He _didn't._" Damn! He had been absolutely positive that guy...

"He did. Pay up. They're planning it for next year, by the way."

Grumbling, Shikamaru reached behind his pocket to grab his wallet "The _one time_ I put faith into an Uchiha...'It's not like that' my ass...troublesome..." he began to count the bills. "I really thought he would have gone at _least_ another year."

"Nope." The Hyuuga snatched up the bills and ignored the look his boyfriend gave him "You owe Itachi too."

"On that note, I know for a fact I can probably bet that he had something to do with it and win." He put his wallet back. "Guy hates losing and I only had a month to go."

"He might have given his little brother a 'push'. Ah, by the way..." picking up his shogi piece he set it down, white eyes flickering up at him in amusement "Checkmate." He got up from the table, leaving Shikamaru absolutely stunned at what had just transpired "It only took me almost five years, but I finally beat you. Today _is_ a good day."

"What the hell...?" No, that wasn't right; he had the game in the bag. He continued to stare hard at the board, at a complete loss as to how Neji could have beaten him. The game had almost been over, in fact, that very same piece Neji had used to checkmate him he had been about to take out with his...

Wait a second.

"You..." he looked up at Neji who merely raised his brows in amused inquiry "You cheating _bastard_..." he took that damn piece and Shikamaru was about two seconds from jumping up and attacking the Hyuuga. There were just things you didn't do to a guy and cheating in shogi was one of them.

The long haired asshole actually had the _audacity_ to look offended. _I'm about to give you something to look offended about you..._

"Excuse me? Shikamaru, I am surprised at you." He began to toss something up in the air. The shogi piece. "I didn't think of you to be a sore loser. Just because you can't handle the fact that I defeated you does not mean you should resort to false accusa –" he cut himself off as he darted towards the other room with an enraged Nara hot on his heels.

He was laughing when Shikamaru tackled him down to the ground, face flushed as he looked up at the other male "And now you're resorting to violence; how appalling."

"I should strangle you." He growled down at him but a smile was playing on his lips. Shikamaru took in how Neji's eyes no longer flashed with fear and how he no longer fought the urge to recoil from his boyfriend being on top of him. He had noticed a lot of things about Neji lately; small signs that he was finally starting to recover from his past.

"That would take way too much energy and you've already used up your quota for the day chasing me the few feet it took for you to tackle me to the ground." When Shikamaru decided to push his luck by sliding his body so that he was completely on top the look he was given was definitely not one of fear.

"True." He made a low noise when Neji rocked his hips, taking in his heated gaze. Arms wrapped around his neck and he dipped his head, a hand sliding underneath the Hyuuga's shirt. Fingers moved through his short hair as their lips met. Breaking, he tilted his head, smirking at the shaky breath Neji let out when he began to kiss his neck "In fact..."

Sliding his boyfriend's shirt up, he slid down, moving his lips up a toned stomach "I think I..." his tongue trailed up heated skin, swirling around a flat nipple before nipping lightly. Neji moaned softly, whispering his boyfriend's name.

And then the Nara abruptly stood up and yawned loudly. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap." He turned to leave, waving half-heartedly "Later. Wake me up in a few hours." There was stunned silence as he walked out the room. It didn't last long.

"Nara!"

With a smirk on his face, he wasn't at all surprised when he was tackled to the ground two seconds later.


End file.
